American Acting Techniques

The American Acting Techniques Program at The Promenade Conservatory is designed to train the actor in a formal academic setting and will offer a variety of techniques that allow the expression of emotional truth in every performance; accompanied with skill, imagination, passion and discipline. The actor will receive a well-rounded education from the classic, to the contemporary, to the avant-garde. Experiencing a variety of world drama and comedy through training in film, television and stage, The Promenade Conservatory continues its tradition of supporting and nurturing talent who, equipped with the right tools, have no choice but to succeed and excel in chameleon-like performances on the stage and on the screen.

Among the goals and objectives of The American Acting Techniques Program are the following key elements:

• To complete a formal, well-rounded, comprehensive program tailored to the actor.
• To achieve fluency in the techniques of American acting: Meisner, Adler, Strasberg and Chekhov, placing the actor in an echelon above all others.
• To realize mastery of our signature program, The Artist's Keys to Success, giving the actor the necessary edge in the creation of characters, in the world of auditions and effective communication with colleagues in the work place.
• To provide solid film and television acting techniques, setting the groundwork for careers on the screen.
• To develop the actors’ physical and vocal instruments ensuring careers of longevity, depth and diversity.
• To realize the ultimate goal for the acting student which is to behave moment to moment, spontaneously, truthfully, emotionally and imaginatively all at the same time so that the actor is grounded and prepared to develop character work from a real place.
• To benefit from the technical and professional support, faculty, structure, and fellow alumni only available from a well-respected institution.
• Graduates will become accomplished in voice, speech, movement, on-camera experiences, live performances, and acting techniques. The Conservatory also places a strong emphasis on-stage and production experience through in-house productions.

Sanford Meisner Technique

The established Sanford Meisner Technique leads the actor through a procedure of self-investigation, the use of Independent Activities, Entrances, Point of View, Emotional Preparation, Action and Scene Work. The actors learn to craft their independent activities to their fullest emotional, sequential, imaginative and challenging possibilities as well as the crafting of their entrances and exits. Other aspects of the improvisational exercises include the Domestic Exercise, the Shared Circumstance and the Life Goes on Activity.

Stella Adler Technique

The Stella Adler Technique deals in depth with script analysis. The actors will master the breakdown of a script into beats and the use of action exercises and emotional doings to understand the character’s through-line.

Lee Strasberg Technique

Lee Strasberg’s “Sense Memory and Method Technique,” are used to help the actors develop and explore all their senses, bringing their instrument in tune with their environment and their emotional states. The use of Imagery is introduced to connect with Emotionality and Body Language.

Michael Chekhov Technique

Students learn how to create a character using their body as a physical and emotional tool. Selections from plays, poetry and prose are utilized to train the actor to approach the text from a “physical and emotional” point of view. The course investigates the actors’ movement and relationship to space, to each other, and to situations. Exercises including Psychological Gesture, Sensory and improvisational movement, and relaxation help bring awareness to their body, emotions, and mind. Students then apply these techniques to a monologue or poem in a final performance.